Chapter 57: Unseen Currents (Part 2)
The tension between Elias and Levi hung heavy in the air, though neither of them made a move. It was a strange kind of stalemate, both of them aware that the Academy was watching, waiting for something to happen.
Levi stood still, his red eyes fixed on Elias, but there was no aggression in his stance. If anything, Levi seemed indifferent to the situation, which only fueled Elias’s curiosity. The rumors about Levi—about Galewood—had painted him as something more crazy, but here he was, calm and detached.
“So, what’s your deal with them?” Elias asked, breaking the silence again, his tone casual but probing. He wasn’t trying to provoke Levi, but he wanted to understand him. Why were they put in the same room together?
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Levi shrugged. “Same as yours, probably. They want to see what we’ll do.”
Elias nodded, his jaw tightening slightly. He’d figured as much, but it still didn’t make sense. Why pit them against each other—or, at the very least, why observe them in the same room?
He took a step closer, his eyes scanning Levi for any sign of a reaction. Levi remained still, his gaze steady, but there was something unreadable in his expression. Elias had seen that look before—in people who had been pushed too far, too often.
“They obviously think we’ll do something,” Elias muttered. It wasn’t a question. The Academy always waited for people to break, to see how far they could push everything.
Levi’s eyes flicked toward the observation panels again, and Elias saw a brief flicker of something behind those red eyes—something almost like recognition. Not of Elias, but of the situation they were both in.
“They’re always going to get what they want,” Levi said quietly, more to himself than to Elias.
Elias let out a short, humorless laugh. “I’ve been saying that for years.”
The tension between them eased slightly, but neither of them moved from their positions. Neither of them was eager to play into the Academy’s hands.